Hopeful (25 page)

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Letter from the Author

Dear Reader,

Have you ever returned to a place you hadn’t visited in a long time? I did when I went back to Houston a few years ago. It had been a long time since I’d lived there—almost twenty years! To my surprise, as we drove around the city with my brother, looking at old schools, old houses, stopping at restaurants that I used to love . . . it all felt a little bit strange.

Truthfully, my high school didn’t seem as big as I remembered. Our street didn’t seem as endless. Even those po-boys that I used to crave didn’t taste quite as good as I recalled. And it was hot. I mean, really hot.
Houston-hot
. And big! Houston is a really big city with tons of traffic and crazy freeways. Had I really used to drive on the Katy Freeway all the time? Had I ever really been used to all that heat and humidity?

Suddenly, I felt like I was very far from the confident city girl I once was. Actually, I started feeling like the person I had become—a middle-aged woman living in a small Midwestern town. To be honest, I was a bit taken aback by the whole experience.

Then I saw my girlfriends from high school and realized that they, too, had gotten older. But yet, before we knew it, we were sipping iced tea out of Mason jars and laughing about our days on the high school drill team. All of a sudden, twenty years didn’t seem like that much time at all.

I thought about my trip back to Houston a lot while I was writing
Hopeful
. I loved returning to the setting of my Seasons of Sugarcreek books and revisiting characters who still had stories to tell. It’s been a pleasure to Return to Sugarcreek and to write a novel focusing on multiple characters’ hopes and blessings.

I sincerely hope you enjoyed Miriam’s story in
Hopeful
, my twentieth book for Avon Inspire! There’s lots more to come with these characters in the rest of the series. I hope you’ll join me for another book very soon!

With my thanks,
and continued blessings to you,
Shelley Shepard Gray

Shelley Shepard Gray
10663 Loveland, Madeira Rd. #167,
Loveland, OH 45140

1. In the book, Miriam Zehr goes from trying to please everyone but never quite succeeding to learning to be happy with herself. Have you ever experienced any of the doubts that Miriam does? If so, how did you overcome them?

2. Junior Beiler was all about responsibility. He was a great brother to his siblings, but not always the greatest friend to Miriam. Which parts of his character did you admire? Was there anything that you didn’t?

3. Did you connect with any of the other seven Beiler siblings? Who would you like to learn more about?

4. As a writer, I struggled a lot with Mary Kate Hershberger’s character. I knew she was in a lot of pain, both from her past and her present situation. What did you think about her? What do you think will happen to her in the future?

5. One of the main reasons I was so happy about writing another series in Sugarcreek was the opportunity to return to the Graber family. I was especially excited to continue Ben and Judith’s story. For those of you who have read
Christmas in Sugarcreek
, how do you think their past experiences will help them on their current journey?

6. Family relationships and expectations play a big role in this book. Some offered support, others brought more pressure for the main characters. Who in your family has been your base of support? How has she or he helped you over the years?

7. Obviously, being “hopeful” was one of the main themes in the book. I did a lot of thinking about hoping for things that actually could happen, and hoping for dreams that seem almost out of reach. Is there a difference between the two? Have any of your “dreams” come true that you thought were out of your reach?

8. The Scripture verse from Job, “Having hope will give you courage,” guided me in the writing of this novel. How do you think having hope can give a person courage?

9. Miriam’s journey in the novel certainly reflects the wisdom of the Amish proverb that opened the book, “It is far more important to be the right person than to find the right person.” How could this proverb relate to you, or to someone you love?

2 ½ cups milk

1 cup sugar

¼ cup cocoa

¼ cup cornstarch

Dash of salt

½ teaspoon vanilla

1 baked pie shell, cooled

Nondairy whipped topping

Bring 2 cups of milk to a boil. In a separate bowl, mix sugar, cocoa, and cornstarch together. Stir in the remaining ½ cup of milk. Stir mixture into hot milk. Bring to boil, stirring constantly. Add salt and vanilla. Remove from heat and cool. Pour into baked crust and top with whipped topping.

Reprinted with permission from
Simply Delicious Amish Cooking
by Sherry Gore (Zondervan, 2012).

Bamhatsich
, merciful, kind

Bays
, mad

Bedrohwa
, sad

Boppli
, baby

Daed
, Dad

Danke
, thank you

Ehrlichkeit
, honesty

Englischer
, someone who isn’t Amish

Frayt
, happy

Freind
, friend

Gmay
, church

Gut
, good

Jah
, yes

Kaffi
, coffee

Kapp
, the white covering for a woman’s head

Kinner
, children

Lieb
, love

Mamm
, Mom

Moondawk
, Monday

Muddah
, mother

Naerfich
, nervous

Nee
, no

Nohma
, name

Onkle
, uncle

Rumspringa
, the running-around years. Time in a teen’s life to explore the outside world.

shool
, school

Shoolahs
, scholars

Tay
, tea

Wunderbaar
, wonderful, great

Wilkum
, welcome

A Sneak Peek of Shelley Shepard Gray’s Next Book, Thankful

PROLOGUE

Ten Years Ago

“Betcha can’t put your skates on as fast as I can!” Christina shouted as she ran down the hill to the frozen skating pond near their houses.

Aden Reese grinned as he watched his neighbor plop on the ground, hike up her blue skirts to her knees, yank off her boots without untying them, then, at last, stuff each foot into a snug white leather skate. Christina was two years younger than him—twelve years to his fourteen. Most boys he knew wouldn’t be caught dead playing with a twelve-year-old.

But Christina was different.

Well, she was different to him. There was something about her that he’d never been able to ignore. It wasn’t just her golden hair and light blue, almost silver eyes. No, it had more to do with her easy smiles. And the happiness that radiated from her.

It was also the way she never acted sorry for him when she realized that his parents had been so busy with their handcrafted furniture business that they often left him for days at a time. And the way she’d merely stood by his side two weeks ago, saying nothing when he learned that their van had gotten in an accident and they’d both died instantly. Instead, she’d slipped her slim hand into his and hadn’t even flinched when he’d clung to it like a lifeline.

Christina was special to him. She was his friend. And one day? Well, she wouldn’t be too young, and neither would he. Then he would court her properly until she agreed to marry him.

Until then, he would simply bide his time and look out for her.

“Aden, how come you’re walking so slow?” she called out. “I’m ready to skate. What’s wrong?”

“Me? Oh, nothing. Just a little cold, I guess. Um, will you be warm enough?”

She practically rolled her eyes. “Jah. I have on mittens, a cloak, a wool scarf, and even a bonnet over my
kapp
. You don’t even have your coat on.”

“I don’t need it like you need yours.”

“I’m not a child, Aden.”

“I know that.” Unfortunately, he knew that too well. Without wasting any more time, he sat down next to her and carefully removed his skates’ guards, then deftly switched out his boots for the skates. “Ready?”

“I’ve been ready!” She gingerly walked down the path toward the pond’s edge, grasping his hand for support when he stepped to her side. She gave him a little smile of thanks before pushing off and gliding across the ice. With a feeling of satisfaction, he followed.

Time seemed to stand still as he skated by her side, her voice ringing in the chill air as she told him the latest stories about her brothers and sisters. He smiled, happy to hear her chatter, just happy to be doing anything other than think again about his lack of family.

After they’d skated along the perimeter of the pond twice, she teased him again. “Betcha can’t catch me now, Aden!” she cried, just as she sped forward, racing across the middle of the pond in a flash. Looking beautiful. Ethereal.

Right until the moment he heard a sharp
crack
and watched her fall through the ice.

His heart froze. “Christina?” he called out, skating around the edge until he got to where she was.

Her head popped up. She gasped. Her skin already looked blue, her eyes panicked. Remembering something about lying on the ice to spread out his weight, he scooted forward. Ready to grab her hand when her head went under again.

He jumped in.

The water was jarringly cold, though the temperature barely registered. All he felt was her body as he curved his hands under her arms and pulled her upward. “Please God, please God, please God,” he repeated to himself as they broke the surface.